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Between the 2-3 rd September 2012 the Indonesian TNI operated together with the National Police POLRI around the hill country at Abepura, West Papua. They captured 21 OPM / TPM members. Among the captives was Dani Kogoya, OPM / TPM’s leader and two of his brothers, one named Pendimin Kogoya. When the TNI and POLRI captured the leader Dani Kogoya they beat him, among other things, on the leg with the back of the rifle butt until they broke the femur in two. They almost let him to bleed to death before the ambulance came and picked him up for transport to Bayankara hospital in Abepura. The assault by Dani Kogoya was so severe that his chances of full recovery are non-existent when the damage to the leg was so severe that doctors had to amputate the leg. The risk is that Dani Kogoya will die as a result of the injuries inflicted upon him by TNI and POLRI. His belongings were transported to Jayapuras port.

Early yesterday morning we also were informed that his two brothers were beaten so hard in the head that their skulls were cracked and as a result they lost a lot of blood. After the beating they were transported to the hospital in Abepura, where they were placed in the psyche ward.

Meanwhile TNI and POLRI personnel burned homes in a suburb to Abepura to the ground. Until this day the Indonesian police keep five of the members detained in Abepura. These individuals are: Tontinus Kogy, Mabi Jikwa, Lambertus Sief, Satlin Jikwa, Sammy Jikwa. Where the remainder of the 14 are being detained and how the health status of all these members is currently unknown.

Indonesia does not have three military sections in the TNI (Army, Navy and Air Force)! They also have a fourth, it is the national police POLRI. POLRI is supposed to act, serve and protect the civilian population. Despite this POLRI acts as the fourth section of the military and is actively involved in military operations when the rest of the world’s democratic powers distinguishes between civil and military power. How can the West Papuans be safe and able to get their legal rights secured from POLRI under such conditions?

No, all relatives and Papuan countrymen, inform yourself of what the military and the police are doing with our fellow citizens and report and send out all the information you can to the world. We will write and report as much as we can.

HILLARY Clinton has defended the Obama administration’s decision to provide air-to-surface missiles to the Indonesian military despite its record of human rights abuses in West Papua. Asked about the decision on Monday night, the US Secretary of State said, “Indonesia has a right to enhance its security,” before congratulating the country on its role in combatting terrorism using tough law enforcement. The comments come as Indonesia seems about to appoint a former head of the uncompromising counter terrorism police agency, Detachment 88, to lead the police force in Papua. Brigadier General Tito Karnavian will soon be appointed Papua police chief, according to a letter obtained by the Jakarta Globe newspaper, at a time when the work in the restive province of his former unit, Detachment 88, is coming under serious scrutiny.

General Karnavian, 47, led the Australian-funded and trained anti-terror police between 2004 and 2010, instituting a tough but successful crackdown on terrorist groups in Indonesia. However, Detachment 88’s work to suppress separatist strife in West Papua is considered much more controversial, particularly after allegations that the unit was involved in the recent, allegedly unprovoked, killing of independence activist Mako Tabuni. The American government has recently promised to give Indonesia two F16 fighter jets, and sell it air-to-surface guided missiles valued at $25 million. The missiles are designed to hit targets including ships, vehicles and fuel storage facilities.

Ms Clinton nodded towards the concerns of activists over the Tabuni killing, saying: “We deplore violence of any sort in Papua and when it does occur there should be full and transparent investigations under the rule of law and make sure that the lessons are learned from that”. However, she added that the United States “believe that there has been an enormous amount of good work done by the Indonesian government”. Australian foreign minister Bob Carr recently called for a full and open inquiry into the Tabuni killing – earning a rebuke from a senior Indonesian parliamentarian. The Indonesian government has so far made no moves towards an inquiry. On the police version of events, Mr Tabuni was armed.

Australia has raised hackles in Jakarta over Canberra’s response to an ABC report accusing an Indonesian counter-terrorism unit of human rights violations in West Papua. Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has called on Jakarta to investigate the killing of a West Papuan activist Mako Tabuni. Jennifer Robinson is an Australian lawyer best known for representing Julian Assange. But for a decade she was deeply involved in providing legal assistance to West Papuan activists.

A summary of Amnesty International’s report 2012th The text is drawn from the report “AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2012 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS”.

“Peaceful political activities continued to be criminalized in Papua.”

Torture and other ill-treatment

Security forces faced repeated allegations of torturing and otherwise ill-treating detainees, particularly peaceful political activists in areas with a history of independence movements such as Papua and Maluku. Independent investigations into such allegations were rare.

In January, three soldiers who had been filmed kicking and verbally abusing Papuans were sentenced by amilitary court to between eight and 10 months’ imprisonment for disobeying orders. A senior Indonesian government official described the abuse as a “minor violation”.

In April, police in Papua shot Dominokus Auwe in the chest and head, killing him, and wounded two others in front of the Moanemani sub-district police station. The three men had approached the station peacefully to inquire about money the police had seized from Dominokus Auwe earlier that day.

Freedom of expression

The government continued to criminalize peaceful political expression in Maluku and Papua. At least 90 political activists were imprisoned for their peaceful political activities.

In October, over 300 people were arbitrarily arrested after participating in the Third Papuan People´s Congress, a peaceful gathering held in Abepura town, Papua Province. Although most were held overnight and released the next day, five were charged with “rebellion” under Article 106 of the Criminal Code. The charge could carry a maximum life sentence. A preliminary investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) found that the security forces had committed a range of human rights violations, including opening fire on participants at the gathering, and beating and kicking them. Some human rights defenders and journalists continued to be intimidated and attacked because of their work.

In March, journalist Banjir Ambarita was stabbed by unidentified persons in the province of Papua shortly after he had written about two cases of women who were reportedly raped by police officers in Papua. He survived the attack.

In June,military officers beat Yones Douw, a human rights defender in Papua, after he tried tomonitor a protest calling for accountability for the possible unlawful killing of Papuan Derek Adii in May.

Impunity

Perpetrators of past human rights violations in Aceh, Papua, Timor-Leste and elsewhere remained free from prosecution. The Attorney General’s office failed to act on cases of serious human rights violations submitted by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM). These included crimes against humanity committed by members of the security forces.